Fargo

Rating:
Summary: Fargo blew me away. Oh, Yah, Yah...
Review: The performances in Fargo are really outstanding. You think it's going to be this quiet little film and then, you're blown away by it. Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare are not to be missed in their bad guy performances. Frances McDormand won an Oscar for her portrayal of a pregnant sheriff, and well she should have! She nailed the accent, the intontation; she was convincing. Steve Reevis [Geronimo] has a small, but impacting part as an ex-con gone straight whose freedom is threatened by Steve Buscemi's character.

This film is an oddity in that it is both a comedy AND a thriller. Poking fun at itself and reeling you in, this film is a do not miss!

Rating:
Summary: Blinded by its own prowess
Review: There is an aspect of our nature, present to some degree in all of us, which takes the measure of life's absurdities and prompts us to respond with studied cynicism. Your enjoyment of this movie will depend on whether you consider this aspect of human nature a comfort or a flaw. Those who consider it a comfort will find this movie quirky, blackly humorous, and grotesquely original. Those who think this response a flaw will find this movie jaded, mean-spirited and cruel.

In truth, this movie straddles both ends of the continuum. It is without question a tour-de force containing fine performances, direction, dialogue and juxtapositions. However, it is also black-hearted and degenerate. It cloaks its cynicism under the guise of 'reality' but can't hide the fact that at heart, its makers have a low regard for human nature. Yet, though it is cynical, it is not cheaply so. Cheap cynicism would be easy to dismiss, but the cynicism in Fargo is both sardonic and smart and about as close to insightful as cynicism gets.

I don't like cynicism of any sort, so I did not enjoy this movie, but I can understand how some people might. This movie is the cinematic equivalent of those callously abusive wags who go around skewering their friends with their venomous wit. It's all very cruel and in terrible taste, but you can't help admiring the quality of the wit.

Much has been written about the great performances. It's all true. Frances McDormand gives a command performance as a country bumpkin sheriff who is the furthest thing from dense. William Macy is, if anything, even better as the frantic blundering idiot who hatches the insane plot to fleece his father-in-law of a million dollars so that he can set up on his own. And the criminals, whether acting as bumbling fools or dead-eyed killers, are presented about as well as I have seen such characters portrayed. The actors all had fun with their parts and it shows.

But these are great performances in the service of a nasty film. We are supposed to chuckle at the darker absurdities--the pathetic kidnap victim stumbling around with a bag over her head, William Macy's rictus grin while everything goes to hell around him, the infamous episode with the wood chipper--but I couldn't laugh without also feeling soiled and corrupted. If in fact this is what the filmmakers intended, then what pray tell was their point? Were they making some caustic observation about the cruelty that we each harbour deep within us? Were they commenting on the freakishness of fortune? Bad karma? If so, then they were hardly original and grossly barbaric.

The only themes that I could make out in this movie were a string of tautologies. Fargo deals with the stupidity of stupidity, the cruelty of cruelty and the absurdity of absurdity. Granted, it shows all of this with nerve, style and skill, but it didn't provide me with any finer insight into human nature, any deep reflections on self, or any understanding of our place in the universe. And while I don't expect such answers from your average crime flick, I am entitled to such expectations from a film that wins barge-loads of awards and inspires such breathless laudatory kudos.

Will you enjoy this film? It depends. If you appreciate in-your-face style for its own sake, black humour that does not truckle to considerations of taste, and filmmakers brazenly getting away with the stunts they pull, then this film is a cinematic feat. But if you expect style, originality, dark wit and command performances to serve some higher end, then this film does not meet such goals. This is a film entirely given over to admiring its own technical prowess. Too bad it forgot to include something of the higher world.

Rating:
Summary: yah...this movie rachs...don't cha know!
Review: I don't know why I waited so long to see this movie. But I'm glad I picked this film up the second the new edition was released. I love this movie! The Coen brother's best work to date is a classic and must own film. Everywhere you look, this movie is riddled with great performances. Obviously Frances McDormand won an Oscar for her role, which was greatly deserved. But everyone else was just as great. I'm a big fan of dark comedies. And this lives up to the genre. Is it sick that I die laughing whenever I see the part where Jerry's wife gets out of the car after being kidnapped (blindfolded) and proceeds to run around in the snow in her slippers? I don't know, but that's just one of the many scenes that had me dying laughing. The Coen brothers are very versatile filmmakers (as noted with Intolerable Cruelty; a romance comedy) and I am always up for one of their movies, no matter what subject or genre. Even the score was great! And the extras on the Special Edition are very good too, including a documentary with the Coens and cast. Commentary by the brothers is noticably absent, but maybe like Speilberg, they prefer to let their work speak for itself...which it does.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the rest?
Review: Fargo is one of my all-time favorite movies. I was thrilled when this director's cut came out since a DVD wasn't available. I was very disappointed when I discovered that they cut the movie considerably. Scenes that were just so great were completely absent. Aren't director's cuts supposed to be more inclusive? Waah!

Rating:
Summary: Dude, if you are going ta go this Far,Go ahead and buy it!
Review: I cannot begin to emphasise how excellent this flick is. After 10 minutes (and I mean the first 600 seconds) if you are not captivated by the setting and the characters then read no further... Where is pankakes house? We stop at pankakes house.......This movie is in my collection, will it be in yours?

Rating:
Summary: Top Ten
Review: Fargo is definetly on my top ten movie list which includes Memento, Pulp Fiction, and The Usual Suspects. If you liked these movies don't even bother reading more reviews cause you'll like this movie. If you haven't seen them (which you should) see Fargo anyway.

Fargo is definately a unique movie. It beautifully blends drama, humor, action, and thrills into 1 1/2 hours of pure brilliance. It is supperbly acted with Steve Buscemi, Frances McDormand (who's absolutely hilarious), and William H. Macy. It is definately a shame that Buscemi has fallen off the radar of good movies because he really carried this movie as he did with resevoir dogs.

I've always said a good movie is one that has you still thinking about it weeks later. (as long as those thoughts are not how bad you wasted your time in watching it.) This movie made me think and a week later as a write this review i'm still thinking.

you might as well just buy this movie because you'll be wasting three bucks to rent it.

Rating:
Summary: Fargo
Review: Humm... Well uhh... It's definately unique. This movie is about simultaneously a comedy of errors, a Midwestern satire, a taut suspense thriller, and a violent tale of criminal misfortune. The movie all begins when a hapless car salesman ineptly orchestrates the kidnapping of his own wife. The plan goes horribly awry in the hands of bumbling bad guys, and the pregnant sheriff of Brainerd, Minnesota is suddenly faced with a case of multiple murders. Her investigation is laced with offbeat observations about life in the rural hinterland of Minnesota and North Dakota, and Fargo embraces its local yokels with affectionate humor. At times shocking and hilarious, Fargo is utterly unique and distinctly American, bearing the unmistakable stamp of its inspired creators. This is also based on a true story, but out of respect for the dead they changed the names. Believe me this is a dark comedy/crime drama that should please any one with good taste. I'd say rent it or buy it.

Rating:
Summary: I'll Try Again
Review: They wouldn't publish my first review of this movie. I guess I was just too honest and to the point. So this time I will be politically correct, and beat around the bush a bit. - This movie stinks!!!

[I'm glad so many have found my above little review so noteworthy. After posting it I wrote the following comments to a friend concerning my review and the movie Fargo.]

"I was having some fun with this. Fargo is really a disgusting movie. I've forgotten most of the details, but it has a lot of very brutal and graphic murder, violence, etc. Most of the characters are evil, base, and treacherous; constantly doing terrible things. Supposedly the movie is about true events that happened in North Dakota, and it is supposed to be some kind of hip, avant-garde comedy. But really, it's just sick.

There are plenty of worse movies out there, but somehow this one got into the main stream. It won a couple of Oscars, nominated for several more (including best picture), and it received a lot of other awards and critical praise. Truly a case of "the emperor has no clothes" if there ever was one. I really don't get why a movie like this would get that kind of attention. Maybe our society is just getting that bad.

I don't write movie reviews, but as you suggested, the movie is so offensive something should be said. My review is really just comedy. As Billy Crystal would put it, "I said I was going this away, and I went that away." I said I was going to "beat around the bush", but then just said directly "the movie stinks". That's all that needs to be said about it."

Good luck.

Rating:
Summary: Some Special Edition info... and possible Easter Eggs!
Review: The original MGM DVD of Fargo, which is being replaced by this Special Edition DVD was quite bare- bones and I had voted 3 stars by weighing the price against the lack of features and average sound quality. I'm sure that the original DVD was one of the first video discs released to a market that no one knew would be as popular as it is now. But it's nice to see that updated DVDs are carrying more features these days.

At this time there hasn't been a public release of the SE DVD, which will come out tomorrow, 9/30/2003. But I have done some homework to dig out what the previews have shared to help you see what could be in store. It isn't in stone, but with a week remaining before the expected release, there's a good chance that this information may be close to hitting the nail on the head.

The transfer is said to be better than the original DVD, and there is also a 5.1 audio track included in the audio options. There is an option for running commentary, but the Coen brothers are not at all a part of it. Word is that the Director of Photography Roger Deakins, said to be quite involved in the SE DVD's production, explains the making of the film. There is a documentary which is close to 30 minutes long, called "Minnesota Nice." It is said to include interviews of the Coen brothers during an interview with Frances McDormand on "The Charlie Rose Show" and also other interviews from now and then along with pictures shot during the movie's production.

If you are interested to include "Fargo" in your film library, bypass the original release and purchase this. Those with the original disc who love the movie should probably sell their original discs, but others may just assume keep the DVD they currently own.

There have also been some reports on the discovery of "Easter Eggs" -- hidden items that can easily be overlooked -- that you might want to try to find on the special edition discs. Good luck finding them, if there are any!

Rating:
Summary: A Special Edition version has many more features!
Review: Based on ratings of the DVD (and not specifically for the movie) I actually dropped this to 3 stars by weighing the price against the lack of features and average sound quality of "Fargo" which is an MGM DVD. Hold off purchasing this one since there is a new special edition DVD that has a 9/30/2003 release date. The price difference is a matter of probably a few dollars more than this disc. Other titles from the MGM label that I have been interested in have suffered from either a lack of quality in video or audio, or an absence of extra features.

The only added features that this DVD has is the availability to pick French or Spanish subtitles. There are no English subtitles for the hearing- impared. This was one of the first generations of DVDs that didn't have many added features, so it doesn't justify such a steep price tag now.

By the time you decided to investigate DVD titles, I'm certain that you've heard plenty of talk on the movie. I loved it, myself. Marge (Frances McDormand) was a very enjoyable character, and an Oscar was deserved for the effort. In my opninion, I think the movie would appeal more to people who enjoy the simple life stories or have a warm feeling for country or midwestern life. People who love only high- adrenaline movies will probably be bored by watching "Fargo." If you are picky when you hear people say something often, you might become agitated by some of the dialog, because there are plenty of times when the characters say "You betcha" and "Yeah." Most people will absolutely love "Fargo" but a small minority would hate it. One friend who lived in the Twin Cities was pretty steamed about how the characters talked and he absolutely hated "Fargo."

Me? I was a tad bothered at a few moments, but the overall movie was enjoyable. Look for Marge's performance near the end of the movie while she drives her prowler (I might sound vague, but I feel reviewers should never offer too much for fear of spoiling the movie for you, the reader). I think that scene, which seemed so genuine, pushed McDormand over the hump to garner "Best Actress."

I felt the movie had a moderate reply value. I didn't feel the movie made me want to see it all the time. I liked it whenever I wanted something easy- going, and also would search for "Fargo" when it was cold or snowy outside.